Jiangling Motors Corp

Ford to Buy Stake in Jiangling Motors: The No. 2 U.S. auto maker plans to acquire a 20% stake in Jiangling in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, for about $41.9 million, an official with Jiangling Motors Corp. said. Ford Motor Co. will purchase 139.2 million of Jiangling Motors' Class B shares, which are reserved for foreign investors, for about 30 cents a share, the Jiangling official said. Beijing-based Ford representatives did not return phone calls.

Ford to Buy Stake in Jiangling Motors: The No. 2 U.S. auto maker plans to acquire a 20% stake in Jiangling in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, for about $41.9 million, an official with Jiangling Motors Corp. said. Ford Motor Co. will purchase 139.2 million of Jiangling Motors' Class B shares, which are reserved for foreign investors, for about 30 cents a share, the Jiangling official said. Beijing-based Ford representatives did not return phone calls.

Ford to Invest in Chinese Car Maker: The Dearborn, Mich.-based auto maker said it will pay $40 million for a 20% stake in Jiangling Motors Co. as part of an agreement to develop a line of vehicles. The companies plan to build minivans and vans for sale in China and overseas, using Ford's designs and trademark and Jiangling's components. Ford Motor Co.'s stake in Jiangling will make it the second-largest shareholder in the Chinese auto maker, based in the Jiangsu province.

Ford Motor Co. posted a profit of $2.7 billion for 2009, a dramatic turnaround for the company, which weathered one of the worst years in the history of the automotive industry in comparatively good health. Separately, Ford confirmed it had stopped making a limited-production commercial van in China because the vehicle contained gas pedals that were similar in design to the component involved in Toyota Motor Corp.'s massive recall. Under some conditions, the pedal can cause unintended acceleration in a vehicle, according to Toyota.

Auto dealer Toshio Nakano's idea of a Hawaiian vacation isn't the typical tour of white sandy beaches and lush green golf courses. When he took 20 salesmen to Honolulu earlier this month, he put them in rented Ford cars and gave them a map of the island. Their assignment: to drive like Americans. Nakano is making sure the sales staff at his two Ford showrooms in Tokyo knows more than just the fuel economy, engine size and upholstery options for the Ford Mondeo sedan and Taurus station wagon.